Mario Batali on the Leelanau Peninsula; Grand Rapids competes for top 10 'Best Places to Live'

Traverse City CVBFamed chef Mario Batali waxes poetic about the farmers of the Leelanau Peninsula, where he spends his summers.

Here are interesting links about West Michigan:

• Famed chef Mario Batali writes about one of the loves of his life: the Leelanau Peninsula, where he lives at his "fish camp" from July 1 to Labor Day weekend. He praises the sophistication of the food scene:

The chefs involved in the scene celebrate what's here; they're not trying to be anything they're not. Now people are coming for gastronomic tourism.
All winter I look forward to eating two things: pizza from my wood oven topped with Leelanau Cheese Company's Raclette and serrano chiles, and cherry pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company.

See his picks for other gastronomic outings. [via Bon Apetit]

• Grand Rapids is in the top 100 "Best Cities to Live" rankings, determined as "communities that are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven overall economic stability." You can cast your vote here. The top 10 will be announced Aug. 2. [via relocateamerica.com]

• Henry Payne writes that the Republican Party needed a name like Pete Hoekstra to go up against U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, who's building up a war chest for a third six-year term. [via TheMichiganView.com]